Grip for playing clubs



'April 1 1924. 1,488,900

' G. M. ARMSTRONG GRIP FOR PLAYING CLUBS Filed Jan. 21, 1922 gwvewfoz affo'meg Patented Apr 1, 1924.

UNITED STATES v 1,488,900 PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE M. AMSTBONG, O]? BALTIMORE, IABYLAND.

GRIP FOR PLAYING CLUBS.

Appl ication'flled January 21, 1922. lerlal- 110. 530,907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GnoRcE MJARM- STRONG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the county of Baltimore City and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grips for Playing Clubs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved grip for playing clubs, more particularly golf clubs whose heads must be correctly positioned to accurately and fairly hit the golf ball.

While various types of grips for golf clubs have been heretofore used, many of them are designed to compel the player to grasp or grip the club in a more or less arbitrary manner that frequently hinders rather than assists the average player. That is' to say, grips of the general character referred to are unsatisfactory for universal use because the hands and fingers of individual playersnot only vary in sizeand form, but also the way in which one layer naturally rips the shaft of the c ub is usually di erent from another, and even the professionals teach their own preferred style of hand-hold.

Accordingly, the present invention has primarily in view obviating the difficulties incident to grips which compel and direct the fingers and hands to assume av certain position, by providing a grip having a sighting marker properl positioned with reference-tmthe head 0 the club so that the player can hold the club according to his own style and yet correctly set the head so that the striking edge or face thereof will properly present itself to the ball. .In that way he can correctly position the head of the club for the stroke, and then adjust the position of his hand and fingers on the grip, according to his own peculiar style of gripping.

In addition to the foregoing general ob ject, the invention also contemplates the provision of a hand grip having a si hting marker which may be made of a distinctive and contracting color with respect to the grip, thereby not only permitting the sighting marker to be readilyseen but also serving as means of identification for the player or club, as might be desired.

' Another object of the invention is to provide a rip of tubular formation that may be readily fitted to the shaft or handle of the usual club and easily set and adjusted thereon. to indicate the correct position in which the club head should be arranged to strike the ball fair and produce the intended I direction and trajectory.

further object is to rovide a soft reslhent non-slipping han grip that has a good feel when the club is grasped by the player, fortable but positive grip which will materially assist him in making the correct stroke. y

With the above and other objects in view which will'lnore readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood the same consists in the novel construction, combmation and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated. and claimed. I

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a olf club havlng I the improved grip app ied thereto.

Figure 2 is a view similar to showing a driver. V

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail view of the gri applied to the shaft of the club.

igure 4 1s a cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3..

Figure 5 is a ersp'ective view of a portion of the grip fore it is appliedto the shaft.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding arts throughout the sev-' eral figures of t e drawin In ca ing the present invention into effect it wi 1 be understood that the same may be applied to olf clubs of any type suc as mid-irons, rivers, mashies, etc., as all of these clubs have a head portion H whose striking face bears a definite relation to the longitudinal axis of the shaft S. In its primary aspect therefore, the invention comprises a hand grip 1 which is in the form of a resilient tube or sheath rubber which may be fitted over the handle portion of the shaft while extended in such manner as to firm] engage the handle when it contracts and afso provide a comfortable and yielding as well as non-slipping hand grip for the player.

This hand grip is provided with a longitudinally disposed sighting marker 2 extending in' a straight linethroughout the Figure 1 preferably ofseparate length of the'grip and is preferably of a color that contrasts with the body of the grip so that it will conspicuously direct the attention of the player to the correct position for the club. To attain thatobject the marker 2 is therefore, parallel with the axis of the shaft and located on the upper side of the hand grip so as to pointin a direction that will assist the eye of the layer in locating the correct spot on the riving face of the head of the club to strike the ball and send it over the proper course in its flight. For the purpose of securing the relatively soft and resilient body of the rip on the shaft to insure it against slipping or accidental displacement a coat of rubber cement may be applied to the shaft of the club so that when the cement sets the tube will become, in effect, an integral part of the shaft. Also, to preventthe curlin or roughin of the ends of the grip the holding ban 5 3 shown in Figure 3 may be used.

The sighting marker 2 is preferably a straight line extending throughout the lengt of the grip and may be a narrow strip vulcanized or otherwise united to the tubular body constituting the hand grip. Or, on the other hand it may be a strip of distinctive color formed in the tube at the time of manufacture. In every'instance, however, the sighting marker presents no a preciable projection beyond the surface 0 the grip so that the entire grip presents in sheet a smooth, unobstructed surfacewhich permits the player to grasp the club according to his individual style.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the novel and distinctive feature of the present invention is a golf stickgrip provided with a longitudinally disposed sighting marker extending the full length of the grip and disposed at the center of the upper side thereof, as held in the hand, to enable the player to correctly si ht the position of the head of his club wit reference to the base and the ground. Although in the embodiment shown, this marker consists of a line of contrasting color with respect to the grip, it will of course be understood that the manner of forming such a lineal marker, and its color, is in no way limited by the disclosures herein which are intended to illustrate one simple and practical embodiment ofthe invention.

Without further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and it will of course be understood that changes of the character above referred to may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the inven: tion or scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A grip for playing clubs consisting of an integral rubber tube of one color having vulcanized thereon a straight line marker of another color.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE M. ARMSTRONG.

Witnesses:

EMORY L. Gnorr, VIRGINIA L. 'WA'rson 

